If Only
by dreamer one
Summary: He's tired of waiting. Sam and Jack Valentine piece. Oops! there was a Part II after all!
1. Chapter 1 If Only

IF ONLY …

Summary: He's tired of waiting. Sam and Jack Valentine piece.

Set in Season 8 shortly after Threads and before Moebius

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Valentine's Day, nothing more than a silly excuse for foolish sentiment. At least that's what Samantha Carter tried to tell herself most every year. This year was no exception. Sure enough, she'd managed to break up with the latest boyfriend before the annual feast of happy hearts. For all intents and purposes, she was alone, as usual.

Sam pulled up in front of her house shortly after 2300 hours. SG1 had returned from a grueling mission to P3X-198 four hours earlier and she was exhausted. The house was dark. You'd think a brilliant scientist could figure out a way to use timers for the lights.

On this particular night, Sam was blessed with the light of a spectacularly full moon. If not for the soft light it cast, she'd never have seen the package waiting for her to the side of her front door. Picking it up in one hand, she opened the door with the other, gingerly walking in with her unexpected gift.

As she placed the unwrapped box on the kitchen table, mentally noting the lack of anything suspicious, she noticed a bright label across one side of the sturdy package. It was the name and logo of the Teddy Bear Company. Now she'd known one or two of her friends who'd received these custom-made bears. But they were romantic gifts. One thing for sure, she was not romantically involved at this point of her life.

_Well, my name's on the box_, she thought. _It can't hurt to open it_. Almost immediately, another less pleasant thought popped into her head. _What if it's from Pete? I don't want to have to tell him again that it's over. The first time was hard enough._ So it was with more than a little trepidation Sam opened the innocent appearing box.

The box contained a soft, jointed teddy bear with light brown fur. No surprise there. Yet as she stood it on the table and took in the whole presentation, her heart skipped a beat.

Staring back at her was undoubtedly a "Jack O'Neill bear". With deep set brown eyes and a cock-eyed grin, the cuddly toy sported a blue jacket reminiscent of Air Force dress blues. The left side of the jacket was dotted with miniature replica medals while a single silver star decorated each epaulet. Though a bit incongruous, the bear wore a tiny baseball cap turned backwards and carried a small toy fishing rod in one paw.

Tied to the bear's other paw was a neatly folded enclosure note. With tears threatening, Sam took the embossed paper from its resting place and began to read the message.

"I'm not much of a talker, Sam, so I thought I'd let 'Jack bear' do it for me. I can't have another day go by without you knowing how I feel. Remember that room we've been keeping our feelings in? Well the walls have been falling down for a long time now. I want you in my life. If you feel the same now's the time to let me know."

"Whatever you decide, hope you'll keep this little guy close to your heart, the same way you are always close to mine. Jack."

Sam was breathless as she came to the end of Jack's short declaration. The ball was in her court. Without further ado, she lifted Jack-bear gently from his resting place and held him tenderly to her heart. Teddy bears were for cuddling and he was no exception. Jack was right; the walls were falling down.

As she punched in the digits of his familiar number, there were still twenty-eight minutes remaining in the most romantic day of the year. Life would never be the same.

The End (or just the beginning…)

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A/N: I love those bears, how about you? 


	2. Chapter 2 Love Matters

A/N: Since two or three readers requested Part II, here goes…

_As she punched in the digits of his familiar number, there were still twenty-eight minutes remaining in the most romantic day of the year. Life would never be the same.

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LOVE MATTERS

He loved her. He'd made the first move. After all these years he'd taken the chance to tell her how he felt. Of course being Jack O'Neill, he hadn't used words. But still, the message was clear.

Before they'd left for P3X-198, Sam had arranged for a Valentine's Day delivery of her own. Funny … after eight years they'd both decided to give in right about the same time.

Somewhere in the middle of the 198 mission, she'd worried the gift she'd selected was foolish and sentimental, hardly something appropriate for a one-star general. But now…

Now, she waited as his phone continued to ring and no one answered. Where was he? They'd left the mountain at the same time, both probably wondering how their surprises would be received on this special day. What a pair!

She decided to take a ride to his place; she had to see him _tonight,_ Valentine's night. For the first time in her life, a decision didn't have to make sense. It simply had to be right.

It took all of two minutes for Sam to toss on her jacket, grab her car keys and tuck Jack- bear lovingly under her arm. (Hey, she wasn't leaving _him_ behind tonight!)

Determined to make it to Jack's before midnight, she threw open her door and prepared to bolt to her car. Good thing she looked up before flying down the stairs. There, directly in front of her, was the object of her affections, in the flesh.

Jack stood there, hands firmly planted in his pockets, still not sure of himself. He'd been standing on her porch nearly five minutes, wondering if he should knock. After eight years of avoiding his feelings like the plague, even the tiny silver charm now attached to his dog tags couldn't give him the courage he needed to come clean. But there it was for her to see. The shiny silver locket securely attached to the same chain that held his dog tags. Only he and Sam knew about the small strand of golden hair tightly curled and secured inside that locket.

Sam took in the sight and her heart swelled with love for this man. There he stood, trying for all the world to act nonchalant, his leather jacket open to the waist, the black standard issue SGC tee-shirt pulled taut against his chest, and her dime-sized heart-shaped gift displayed in stark contrast for all to see.

"Hi," she said simply. "I see you got the gift," she continued, smiling at the charm he now wore close to his heart.

"Yeah," Jack replied, smiling with the warmth that always melted her heart. "You too," he added, gesturing towards Jack-bear, now held tightly against her chest. "You look good together," he quipped.

His last comment brought on the famous Carter smile; Jack thought he'd died and gone to heaven. For the next five minutes, the two colleagues, friends and soon to be lovers stood silently in the doorway, beneath a full moon on the most romantic of nights, lost in each other's eyes.

As midnight came, Sam took his hand and led him inside. He came willingly. It was a beginning. Nothing would ever be the same.

THE END

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A/N: Hope I didn't spoil a good thing with a part two. Please let me know! 


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